Electric switch.



B. S. BOWERS.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

Arnlcmon min sur. |9, 1914. l 1,211,281 Patented Jan. 2,1917.

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B. S. BOWERS.

ELECTRIC SWITCH. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19. |914.

1,211,281. 1 Patented Jan.y 2, 1917. l 3 SHEETSf-SHEET 2.

gmc/fdo@ B. s. BOWERS.

ELECTRIC SWITCH. I APPLICATION mio SEPT. is. |914.

1,21 1,281 Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

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3 SHEETS-S 3 l nl! l .ein l E l I Il Il Il l' I Il Il 'E E E i ii 5 lEJl'i Benjamin Joufers,

l @am BENJAMIN S. BOWERS, OF LAPRAIRIE, MINNESOTA.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

Application ledseptember 19, 1914. Serial No. 862,558.

telephone and telegraph systems.

In carrying out the present invention, it is my purpose to providea switch of the class described whereby the telephone operator in the despatchers office may make all f necessary patches, that is, changing of wires, that an experienced telegraph or tele.

phone engineer could make.

It is also my purpose to provide a switch of the type set forth which will embrace the desired features of simplicity, eliciency and durability, which may be installed and maintained at a minimum expense and which will operate effectively under all conditions.

With the above and other objects ,in view, the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter set forth in and falling within the scope of the claims.

In the accompanying drawings; Fi re 1 is a view Ain front elevation of a switc constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 4 4: of Fig'. 2. Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary Sectional view through the base of the switch showing the contact ngers in edge elevation.` Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the fingers. Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the periphery of the drum flattened out. Fig. 8 is a fragmentary' sectional view through the switch, showing one of the lightning arresters for protecting the telephone and telegraph instruments. g

Referring now to the drawings, 1 designates a base composed of suitable insulating material and provided at one end edge with an upwardly projecting slab 2. Formed in the upper surface of the base 1 approximately centrally A thereof and extending across the same transversely thereof is a concaved depression 3. Suitably secured tov the upper face of the base are sets of contact lingers 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 and certain of the sets of fingers are connected in series in telegraph and telephone lines, while the remaining sets are connected in circuit with telegraph and telephone instruments. The lingers o-f each set are disposed at opposite sides of the depression 3 andf parallel with the fingers of the remaining sets, while the inner ends of the fingers of the respective sets are disposed adjacent to each other and ap roximately centrally of the depression. cated upon the upper face of the base 'and inclosing the lingers thereon is a semicircular housing 11 provided with segmental front and rear Walls 12 and journaled in thefront and rear Walls of the casing centrally thereof and projecting across the same is a shaft 13, while surrounding the shaft concentrically thereof and fixed thereto is a drum 14' capable of rotation. In order to rotate the drum a vertical handle 15 is mounted upon the forward extremity of the shaft 13 and preferably detachably connected thereto so that such handle may be removed from the shaft when desired.

Embedded in the periphery of the drum 14 are set's of contact strips 16 to 29 4inclusive, each set embodying a plurality of contact strips arranged differently from those of the remaining sets and adapted to interchangeably bridge the iingers at the confronting ends thereof so that the telephone and telegraph lines may be cross patched or connected with one another, and connectedA with the various sets of instruments independently of one another. Thus, one side of the telegraph line may be disconnected from the other side and connected with one side of a telephone line and vice versa, and oneI side of a telegraph line connected with a set of telephone instruments, or a set of instrumentsmay be cut in on a telegraph line or telephone line. In the present instance, the set of contact/lingers l are connected in series with a set of telegraph instruments, the sets 5 and 6 connected in series in telegraph lines, the set 7 connected in circuit with telegraph instruments, the sets 8 and 10 connected iny series with telephone lines and the set 9 connected in circuit with telephone instruments. Thus, it will be seen that should the contact fingers be bridged by the set 23 of the contact strips, for instance, the teleo'raph instruments connected Withthe sets of ngers 4 and 7 and the telephone instruments connected with the fingers 9 will be cut out of service and the contact fingers 5 and 6 and 8 and 10 bridged whereby the telegraph and telephone lines will extend through the station, in which the switch isinstalled, uninterruptedly. On theother hand, should the set of contact strips 19 bridge the fingers a cross patch will be established whereby one ofthe fingers of the set 5l will be connected with the opposite finger of the set 8 vand the remaining finger of the set 5 connected withthe opposite finger of the set 10. Thus, one side of the telegraph line connected with the set of contact fingers 5 will be connected with the *opposite side of the tele'phone line connected with the set of fingers 8 with the set of telephone instruments connected to one of the contact ngers of the set 9 cut in, while the remaining side of the telegraph line connected with the contact fingers 5 will be connected with one side of the telephone line connected with the contact fingers 10. Similarly, one side of the telegraph line connected with the contact fingers 6 will be connected with the remaining side of the telephone line connected with the set of contact fingers 10 with the set of telephone instruments connected with the remaining contact fingers of the set 9 cut in, while the remaining side of the telegraph line connected with the contact fingers 6 will be connected with the other side of the telephone line connected with the contact fingers 8. In this condition of the switch, the fingers of the sets 4 and 7 are disconnected vso that the telegraph instruments connected with such fingers are cut out of service. Y,

Normally, the contact fingers 4i and 5 are bridged by the contact strips of the'set 22 whereby the two sets of telegraph instruments in the despatchers office connected with the contact fingers ofthe set 4 are Aconnected, respectively, with the respective sides of the telegraph lines connected with the contact 'ngers 5, while the' two sets of telegraph instruments connected with the fingers 7 are connected respectively with the sides of the telegraph line connected with the contact fingers of the set 6. In this condition of the switch the telephone line connected with the contact fingers 8 eX- tends through the despatchers office with one set of telephone instruments connected 'with the contact fingers 9 cut in, while the telephone line connected with the contact fingers of the set 10 also extends through the despatchers office with the remaining set of the telephone instruments connected with the contact fingers 9 cut in.

' Suitable fuses, lightning arresters and other necessary protecting devices are connected in circuit with the telegraph and telephone instruments, as usual.

From the foregoing description taken in 'connection with the accompanying drawlngs, the construction, mode of operation and manner of employing my invention will be readily apparent. It will be seen that I have provided a switch which will be found especially useful in train despatchers oiiices and other `offices equipped with telephone and telegraph instruments and .through which telegraph and telephone lines extend and whereby any set of instruments inthe office may be connected in any transmission line or with one side of such line and whereby one side or any or all telegraph lines may be connected with one side of any or all telephone lines and vice versa.

While I have herein shown and described one preferred form of my invention by way of illustration, I wish it to be understood that I do not'limit or confine myself to the4 precise details of construction herein described and delineated, as modification and variation may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Each instrument or set of instruments is protected againstburning out by a lightning discharge, and in the present instance each lightning arrester comprises a metal strip a having the lower ends bent at right angles' to itself as at b and disposed upon and in face to face contact with the particular contact finger, the binding post carried by such finger acting as a mechanical connection between the metal strip and the contact finger. The vertical portion of the finger lies parallel with the adjacent portion of the casing or housing ll andinterposed between the confronting faces of the strip a and the housing is a mica disk d and disposed in face to face contact with the mica disk d is a metallic disk e. These various disks and the adjacent portion of the 'casing are formed centrally with alining openings, and through these openings is passed a securing stud f having the inner end headed and the outer end screw threaded to receive a binding nut g, the stud f being insulated from the strip a, the disk e and the housing. The housing of the switch is grounded, as illustrated in Fig. 8, and as the strips a of the respective lightning arresters are connected with the particular contact fingers of the switch connected with the telephone and telegraph instruments, it will be seen that the lightning arresters are connected in shunt with the instruments. In the event of a charge of lightning traversing the conductors or wires leading to the instruments such charge will be grounded incident to the same jumping across the gap between the strips and the casing. In order to facilitate this jumping of the discharge the mica .strips are perforated, as clearly illustrated 1n Fig. 8.

The rotatable drum 14 of the switch is preferably held in the desired actuated position, and in order to so hold the drum any appropriate form of lock device may be employed. In the present instance such device is carried by the front wall of the casing or housing of ythe switch and comprises a spring pressed pin 31 slidably disposed within a tube 31 and having the outer end thereof equipped with a manipulating head 31 and the inner end adapted to changeably enter recesses 30 formed in the front end of the drum 14 concentrically thereof and corresponding to the segments on the drum.

I claim:

1. A switching system for train despatchers oiices and the like, comprising a number of telegraph and telephone lines and instruments therefor, terminal connections for each line and instrument, switch contacts connected to each terminal and arranged in pairs, a movable support of insulating material having on its surface sets of electrical control devices, consisting of contact plates or insulating spaces, longitudinally arranged in sets and so disposed that the pairs of switch-contacts may engage any set Vof said electrical control devices, some of said contact plates being electrically inter-connected, and indicating means, whereby any of the various connections desired may be made by moving the support to bring the corresponding set of electrical control devices and pairs of contacts into engagement.

2. A switching system for train despatchers offices and the like, comprising a number of telegraph and telephone lines and instruments therefor in combination with a switch having at each side thereof terminal connections for the telephone and telegraph lines and the instruments therefor, switch contacts connected to each terminal and arranged in pairs, and a movable support of insulating material having on its surface sets of electrical control devices, each set consisting of two rows of separate contact plates or insulating spaces, and so disposed that the pairs of switch contacts engage any set of said electrical control devices, some of said contact plates being electrically connected from one row to the other and other contact plates connected in the same row, and indicating means, whereby any of the various connections desired can be made by moving the support to bring the corresponding set of electrical contact devices and spring fingers into engagement;

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

BENJAMIN S. BOWERS.

Witnesses: I

A. L. SHELDON, S. WEST. 

